I was on Stirling Highway turning left into Leach Highway this morning just after 8. At this time the traffic is slow and in the area there are quite a few trucks heading from the port to Kewdale.

As I entered the turn the cab of a truck came past me about a metre away. Thank dog I had the presence of mind to realise that he wasn't going to be able to get his double B past me with that much clearance as he cornered. Discretion, valour etc... I hopped off onto the footpath and watched as a few seconds later the tyres of his second trailer scrubbed the kerb!

I got his rego and noticed that he was carrying onesteel skips (I guess they're for shipping scrap to China), phoned onesteel HQ about 10 minutes later. So far they seem to have taken it very seriously, two phone calls and an email back to me, the bloke in charge of drivers in WA is away interstate today but should get back to me tomorrow. The email reads in part "When we receive complaints regarding driver behaviour they are comprehensively investigated and followed up, with corrective actions taken as appropriate."

This sort of thing has happened about every 1000km to me this year. I used to think video recording trips was overkill, my mind is changing.

RobertFrith wrote:I got his rego and noticed that he was carrying onesteel skips (I guess they're for shipping scrap to China), phoned onesteel HQ about 10 minutes later. So far they seem to have taken it very seriously, two phone calls and an email back to me, the bloke in charge of drivers in WA is away interstate today but should get back to me tomorrow. The email reads in part "When we receive complaints regarding driver behaviour they are comprehensively investigated and followed up, with corrective actions taken as appropriate."

Without giving away who I work for, it's closely related to One Steel. Both companies have a very serious safety culture. I can tell you from experience that this sort of thing gets attention from the highest levels of management. At the very least, the driver involved will get a serious talking-to (not the token "we've spoken to him" BS that many places give). Let us know how it goes!

Max

One of the best things about bicycle commuting is that it can mitigate the displeasure of having to go to work. - BikeSnobNYCCycling is sometimes like bobbing for apples in a bucket full of dicks. - SydGuy

Glad you got through it okay Rob and hopefully you will get something positive back from the company. I got a similar follow-up approach from Linfox awhile back when I reported one of their drivers.

With respect to the camera. I reported an incident last week and made it clear in my Police report (online) that I had video evidence. Interesting thing is that I normally get the "we will note this in incident in the database" style of response within 24 hours, whereas this time I am still waiting to hear back. I like to think that they are following-up with the driver at least; mind you they have not asked to see the video as yet which is a bit disappointing.

il padrone wrote:That first one should be reported straight to the police! You can make out bus rego number, and if you have the time and date the driver can be traced. Blatant law-breaking (overtaking across double lines). No excuse at all. This 'bus driver' doesn't deserve a licence to operate a fishing rod, much less a bus carrying public passengers. He's a hazard on the road.

Drivers crossing dpouble lines when overtaking cyclists is one of the driver infractions that I find most infuriating, and potentially life-threatening. I've had them do it on crests, bends and blind corners with oncoming traffic

I do this, that is, overtake on double lines, BUT it's only legal in QLD if the road ahead is very clear and the cyclist is travelling slow enough to be considered a hazard. I don't give cyclists 1m clearance, I give them an entire lane clearance if I can. Plus queensland transport recommends a whole lane clearance at 60 and above. I would never put anyone in danger just to get past them. Hell, I've done it 'Tour De France' style, come up behind a cyclist. Hit the hazards, blocked traffic behind me so they can sprint up hills etc

There are quite a few places along Brisbane's River loop where drivers seem to feel the need to scream around the bunch crossing into the oncoming lane.

Notable ones include King Arthur Terrace Tennyson, and Lambert Road and Carawa Street (continuing into The Esplanade) at Indooroopilly.

Oxford - more details on the follow up to the PNS driver offences would be welcomed please - in fact any further details of how yoiu went about following up and what for would be really useful for discussion/reference here. It is hard to pick exactly how close some of those cars were to you because of camera angles, and almost impossible to make out what drivers shout out as they go by, but I do find that holding my lane and making cars pass when I decide it is safe for me for them to do so certainly helps.

I am getting annoyed at having to slow down for cyclists on the road, I am getting annoyed at having to go around them in a different lane to get past, I'm getting annoyed at the fact that they get to enjoy the scenery...

So what did I do? I bought a bicycle and started riding it Isn't it funny, all problems from a motorists point of view disappear when they start riding a bicycle. I guess we know what this means?

il padrone wrote:That first one should be reported straight to the police! You can make out bus rego number, and if you have the time and date the driver can be traced. Blatant law-breaking (overtaking across double lines). No excuse at all. This 'bus driver' doesn't deserve a licence to operate a fishing rod, much less a bus carrying public passengers. He's a hazard on the road.

Drivers crossing dpouble lines when overtaking cyclists is one of the driver infractions that I find most infuriating, and potentially life-threatening. I've had them do it on crests, bends and blind corners with oncoming traffic

I do this, that is, overtake on double lines, BUT it's only legal in QLD if the road ahead is very clear and the cyclist is travelling slow enough to be considered a hazard.

I would love to know more about the specific details of this Qld rule. Because AFAIK there is nothing of the sort in the National Road Rules model.

As said before, ride big. REAL big. I've been commuting for a few months now. I won't hog a lane if I don't need to, but if I'm riding down a street that will not let my bike, and two cars, be three abreast, then I'm hogging the whole lane. and I preemptively hog the lane if changing conditions up ahead mean that an idiot behind me won't be able to execute an overtaking move effectively.

I was initially more interested in getting out of the way, but realised that I'm going too fast, and lose too much momentum, to just dive out of the way. I average 30kmh on the street, hopefully 40 after getting a new bike I'm going to invest in an airhorn as well. Yelling just isn't loud enough to beat headphones. Still got the scar tissue to prove it.

IMO a lot of it is time dependent as well. You get a LOT more nutters at 4pm than 6. I have a rotating roster, and the 8-4 days are far more dangerous than 10-6. It's not traffic volume either. It's the same where I ride. But the attitude is the defining risk.

Ride big. If they are rushing past you too close, ride faster, and ride bigger. You can't take up too much lane

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